Nicotine can prevent chemotherapy drugs such as Taxol from killing lung cancer cells, researchers reported in a finding that may help explain why lung cancer is so difficult to treat in smokers. The study was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers tested the drugs gemcitabine, cisplatin and Taxol on several cell lines taken from lung cancer tumors.

Cigarette maker Philip Morris has developed an inhaler that could deliver a nicotine mist deep into the lungs, giving smokers a satisfying dose of the addictive drug without the carcinogens, gases and toxic metals that make tobacco smoke so dangerous. Cloaked in secrecy, the device was invented nearly a dozen years ago at a time the tobacco industry was vigorously denying that nicotine was addictive, internal company documents show.

WHEN a friend pulled out a cigarette and lighted it in front of me recently, I was surprised. Although we had spent a considerable amount of time together, I had never seen him smoke. But I was more taken aback by how he downplayed the habit. He didn't think that his smoking posed a problem. He insisted that he wasn't addicted to cigarettes, that he could give them up if he wanted. He's not alone.

The world's 1.3 billion smokers could eventually have a powerful new way to kick the habit -- a vaccine against nicotine. Nearly 60% of smokers who achieved high levels of antibodies against nicotine after receiving the vaccine stopped smoking for at least six months, according to a study presented Saturday at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Fla.

When millions of Americans abandoned smoking in the 1980s, many health experts and social scientists thought they had tobacco on the run. But in the '90s progress began to slow: From 1990 to 2003, according to federal figures, only 3% of Americans gave up their cigarettes. The slowdown prompted many experts to conclude that most of the smokers who could easily quit had already done so.

A Michigan state lawmaker said Monday that he planned to introduce a bill to bar companies from firing employees for smoking on their own time. The proposed "lifestyle legislation" comes in response to a policy at Weyco Inc., an employee benefits firm in Okemos, Mich., near Lansing. On Jan. 1, Weyco began randomly testing its 200 workers for nicotine use, saying it would fire those who tested positive and refused to quit smoking. Four Weyco employees have said they were let go under the policy.

The nicotine in cigarettes is habit-forming but is not the sole cause of addiction, a tobacco company executive argued during testimony in the government's $280-billion suit against cigarette makers. "At this point, [company executives] are not prepared to say it is the only thing that makes it addictive," said Steven Parrish, senior vice president of corporate affairs of Altria Group Inc., parent of Philip Morris USA. U.S.

Caltech researchers have identified the site in the brain where nicotine exerts its most powerful effects, a finding that could lead to new ways to combat tobacco addiction. Nicotine is generally considered one of the most addictive substances known, stronger than even cocaine and heroin, and the health effects of smoking are devastating. More than 4 million people worldwide die each year from diseases caused or exacerbated by smoking, but the majority of smokers are unable to stop.

A federal judge rejected a request by tobacco companies to have government allegations that they manipulated nicotine levels excluded from a landmark racketeering trial due to start Sept. 13. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said nicotine manipulation was just one component of the government's allegations of an overarching fraud that deceived the public about the dangers of smoking and the addictiveness of nicotine.

California may not put stricter health warnings on over-the-counter drugs if the warnings conflict with labels approved by the federal government, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous decision, the court held that manufacturers and distributors of nicotine-replacement products, including nicotine chewing gum and patches, may ignore a state law that requires a warning that the products may cause reproductive harm.